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The One With George Stephanopoulos
"The One With George Stephanopoulos" is the fourth episode of the first season of Friends, which aired on October 13, 1994. Joey and Chandler take Ross to a hockey game to keep his mind off of the anniversary of his first time with Carol. Monica, Phoebe and Rachel get George Stephanopoulos' pizza by mistake, and spy on him from Monica's balcony. Plot All but Joey are at Central Perk, having a discussion about what they would do if they were omnipotent for a day. Phoebe decides on world peace, ending starvation, help the rain-forests and give herself bigger breasts. Chandler's answer is to make himself omnipotent forever. Joey enters, and the group asks him the question. But he misinterprets the question, thinking omnipotent means impotent and says he would kill himself. When Ross tries to explain the word to Joey, Joey gives Ross a sad face and gives his apologies to Ross.this is the first time Ross celebrated his birthday At Central Perk Ross & Monica watch Phoebe sleep. The siblings comment on how they could not fall asleep in public places so easily as their friend. Phoebe wakes up, a bit startled. Turns out she didn't sleep last night because her grandmother's new boyfriend stayed the night. Both are deaf and insecure in bed, so they spend every second screaming how they are having a good time. Monica offers to let Phoebe stay at her place for the night, and Phoebe accepts. Chandler & Joey enter Central Perk. As Chandler walks, Joey counts his steps. It takes 97 steps from their apartment to Central Perk, according to Joey's measurements. Joey goes over to Ross and greets the birthday boy with hockey tickets, Rangers against Penguins, at the Garden later that night. He kisses Ross on the cheek. Ross responds, in his usual dry manner, that his birthd ay was seven months ago. Ross then realises the date: October 20, the day that he and Carol "consummated their physical relationship." He becomes instantly more depressed and tells the guys he is going to pass on the game and spend the night thinking about his ex-wife and her lesbian girlfriend, which intrigues Joey's interest. Ross begins to leave but is stopped by Chandler who tries his best to encourage Ross to come to the game. It doesn't work. But Joey is able to persuade him to change his mind as long as neither buys him one of those huge thumb fingers. Rachel runs up to the group, excitedly clutching an envelope. It is her first pay check ever. She is excited, all her hard work is finally going to come to fruition... until she opens the envelope and finds out that someone by the name of FICA took a lot of her earnings. She has Chandler look at it, and he says it’s not bad. The rest of the gang encourage her, saying it’s good pay for her first job and she will have enough money to live on. They then immediately mention how great her service was tonight and they each give generous tips, knowing how little money she actually makes. As the boys leave for their hockey game, three attractive women enter. They are Rachel's sorority sisters from college: Leslie, Kiki, & Joanne. The four reunite by hugging each other, screaming, and jumping up and down. Monica mentions to Phoebe she saw the same thing on the Wild Kingdom with a group of birds. Rachel asks what they are doing in NYC. Kiki tells her they came to shop and ran into Rachel's mother who informed the girls that they should go to Central Perk to find Rachel... working. Leslie is now pregnant and Joanne has been made a partner in her dad's law firm. They all scream like young college girls. Kiki shows Rachel her finger, with a huge engagement ring on it. Again, they all scream. Phoebe, mocking Rachel and her friends, goes to Monica and says "Look, look, I have elbows" and the two scream. The next scene is with the boys as they walk down a street. Chandler and Joey kick a can as if it were a puck as they walk down the street, pretending to be hockey players. Joey goes to pass it to Ross, but Ross is too distracted to notice. He is looking in a display case filled with women's shoes. Ross tells the guys that Carol was wearing boots that look like the ones in the display case the night they made love. They continue to walk. Chandler & Joey begin to talk but Ross interrupts them with his whining. This time, Ross sees a peach pip on the street which reminds him of the night he and Carol had sex because they ate nectarines. At this point, Chandler gives Joey an agitated look at Ross' behaviour. Ross, still talking, sees a bus stop, which reminds him that he walked Carol to a bus stop afterwards. Joey, trying to chime in, sees a woman walking and mentions her ass resembles Carol's. Ross & Chandler stare at the clueless Italian. Joey says, "What? I thought we were trying to find stuff." Cut to Central Perk where Rachel and her 3 sorority sisters are sitting and talking. Rachel wants to know all the dirt. Kiki tells her that everyone is still talking about how Rachel left Barry at the altar. Causing Rachel to grimace a little. Joanne wants to find out when Rachel will come back home. She tells her friends, she's in the City for good. Especially since she has a job, which makes the girls gag, thinking she would rather be a waitress than a rich girl back home. Rachel, falling under peer pressure, insists she is not a waitress. She does much more, such as write the specials on the board, remove dead flowers, and sometimes she gets to decorate the cookies. Still, her friends are not impressed. Next scene is at Monica & Rachel's place. Phoebe & Monica are in their P.J.’s and making a drink in the blender. Rachel enters. Monica asks how it went, and then mock screams with Phoebe, before asking how much "Tiki Death Punch" she would like. Rachel asks what is in it. As soon as Monica says rum, Rachel grabs the blender and starts to drink. Monica tells Rachel that since Phoebe is staying the night, they created a slumber party out of it. The phone rings and Monica picks it up. She hands the phone to Rachel, it’s the people from her Visa card, there has been unusual activity on her account. Rachel insists she hasn't used her card in week, which it turns out is the unusual activity. They want to know if she is okay, which sends Rachel off on a rant about how FICA takes all her money, her friends are either pregnant, married, or getting promoted. Monica tells the Visa people that Rachel left the building and hangs up. Rachel, trying to get out of her lousy mood, insists on playing Twister. At the hockey game the guys are trying to find their seats. They have to pass through a tiny row that is already filled with people in their seats. Ross discovers the three guys won’t be sitting together and he notices ice, which sends him back to the night with Carol. Joey, tired of Ross, tells him to just sit down anyway. Back at the girl's apartment, Monica & Phoebe are trying to cheer up the depressed Rachel. Monica insists she should feel good that she is being independent. But that didn't work. Phoebe tells Rachel she is just like Jack from Jack & the Beanstalk because he gave up something he liked and he got magic beans in return. And when he woke up, a big plant was outside his window, "full of possibilities and stuff." Rachel tries to bring Phoebe down to Earth by comparing that Jack only gave up a cow, she gave up an orthodontist. And now, everything seems "floopy." Monica tells Rachel everyone is like her at some point, not knowing what direction to take. Rachel, a bit more depressed, asks what happens if this is as far as she will ever get in her life. At the game, all 3 guys are having a great time, especially Ross. They are yelling and shouting at the players. Having a great time... until the player shoots the puck, which flies off the rink and hits Ross in the face. Chandler gets concerned until he notices they are on TV. Chandler & Joey hold up the puck as they excitedly wave at the TV monitor, leaving Ross in pain. At the ER Chandler & Joey slowly walk Ross inside. Chandler goes up to the receptionist, but she holds up her hand to him. She is busy talking on the phone, lodging a complaint against a candy bar. Chandler tries to get her attention by saying his friend needs medical help; otherwise they would not be in the ER. The receptionist just gives him a cold look. She tosses Chandler forms to fill out. Ross jumps to his feet and goes to the receptionist saying he doesn't want trouble, but he is in a lot of pain. Receptionist doesn't care. Cut to the girls. The scenario has completely reversed. Now Monica and Phoebe are completely depressed, leaving Rachel to try and cheer them up. A pizza guy knocks on the door to deliver pizza. Rachel goes to answer. Monica, depressed, asks Phoebe if she has a plan. Phoebe says, "I don't even have a 'pl'". The pizza delivery man tells Rachel he has one mushroom, one green pepper & one onion. Rachel, depressed, tells him that is not what they ordered. They ordered a fat-free crust with lots of cheese. The pizza guy, a teenager, figures out that Rachel is not "G. Stephanopoulos'. Monica leaps up from the couch and runs to the door at the sound of the name of the handsome President Clinton's press secretary. She asks the pizza guy if this G. Stephanopoulos who lives across the street from the girls, was a "small Mediterranean guy with curiously intelligent good looks?" The pizza guy confirms. Monica asks if he was wearing a blue suit when he got their pizza. The kid says he was wearing just a towel, causing Monica & Phoebe, to swoon. They take the pizza, pay the pizza guy, and close the door before running to their window with binoculars. Rachel is confused; she doesn't know who he is. Monica looks through the binoculars and sees the pizza. Phoebe grabs the binoculars to look. Monica fills Rachel in on who George is... Rachel loves him. Phoebe, still looking through the binoculars, tells the girls she sees a woman with George, causing Monica to get jealous. In the ER waiting area Ross is still waiting to be seen. Chandler, tense, goes over to the receptionist to inform her they have been waiting for over an hour and they have seen people less injured than Ross get a turn. She slides a glass panel over, causing Chandler to talk to the glass. The girls are on the apartment's balcony, still spying on George and his date with binoculars. Monica asks if their light is still out. It is. In an attempt to be hopeful, she proposes that maybe the two are taking a nap. Rachel snaps back that they are having sex, not napping, causing Monica & Phoebe to get upset. This sparks a discussion about what George is like in bed. Monica thinks he is shy, but can be turned into a "preppy animal." In the hospital waiting room, Ross is talking about the night he and Carol had sex and how the moon illuminated her face. Chandler is ready to kill himself, so is Joey. Joey tells Ross to get over it, what's the big deal about sleeping with her for the first time, especially since he slept with her for seven years after that time. Ross mumbles that Carol was the first woman he had ever had sex with. This surprises the guys, that Ross has only been with one woman in his entire life. On the balcony, the girls are drunk. Monica tells Phoebe that the vegetarian pate that she loved so much was made from goose. Phoebe gets upset and tells Monica that now she doesn't feel bad about sleeping with Jason Hurley after they had broken up a couple hours later. Monica gets upset. Rachel tells Monica that the valentine she received from Tommy Rollerson was actually from her. She tells Phoebe that Monica was "a big girl" back in college, so no one would give her a valentine. Monica retorts by saying at least she didn't pee her pants back in the seventh grade. Rachel & Monica begin to squabble until Phoebe breaks them up by seeing George through the binoculars. The girls began to chant, "Drop the towel" ...he does, and they are stunned. Back at the Hospital, Ross is finally with a doctor while Joey & Chandler wait in the waiting room. Joey can't believe Ross has only had sex with one woman. Chandler thinks its romantic... but when questioned by Joey he gives in and says the guy's a freak. Ross comes back out to the waiting room; he has a steel bandage on his nose as he tosses forms onto the reception desk. The receptionist looks at Ross and sarcastically says, "Oh, that's attractive."Chandler retorts by saying he loved her in Silence of the Lambs. Chandler turns back to Ross and says no matter what, they still had fun tonight. Ross disagrees and asks for his puck. Joey gave it to a kid in the waiting room. Ross goes to the kid and asks for it back but the kid refuses. Ross tries to snatch it but it flies out of his grasp and knocks out the receptionist, which puts a smile on Ross' face. Final scene is back at Rachel & Monica's. Joey & the girls are playing Twister; Ross is in charge of spinning. During Phoebe's turn, she has to bend over, causing Joey to happily stare at her butt. The phone rings and Chandler answers it. The Visa people are calling for Rachel again. Rachel tells Chandler to take her place on Twister as she goes to the phone. She tells them she is fine, she just chooses not to use the Visa card. Cast and Crew Main Cast Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green Courtney Cox - Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing David Schwimmer - Ross Geller Supporting Cast Mary Pat Gleason - Nurse Sizemore Benjamin Caya - Bratty Boy Michele Maika - Kiki Leesa Bryte - Leslie Sean Whalen - Pizza Guy Marianne Hagan - Joanne Crew Directed By: James Burrows Written By: Alexa Junge Trivia * Monica's relationship with Jason Hearley would be later referenced in Season 2 * In the DVD version the girls also discuss about how Chandler, Joey and Ross (much to Monica's protest) are like in bed. * Joey and Chandler want to take Ross for the game on 20 October, which is 2 days after his birthday, but he says his birthday was 7 months ago. * In one scene, Ross's foam finger is there. Later on its gone. * Monica's balcony is depicted as bigger than later episodes Goofs/Errors in geography *On their way to the Ranger game at Madison Square Garden, the boys pass an M15 bus stop. The M15 runs down 2nd Avenue and up 1st Avenue, much farther east than Ross (who lives near 6th Avenue), Chandler, and Joey (who live near 7th) should be if they're going to the Garden (which *is* on 7th). Episode Navigation Category:Season 1 Category:Friends Episodes Category:Season 11